Bottle capping machine



Dec. 3, 1935. GMKEMPE ET AL 2,023,325

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 24, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Win/55s "1 J. G. KEMPE ET AL BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 24, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 //Y VEN TU R Dec. 3, 1935.

m j w 1 @Mwi.

Patented Dec. 3, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE of New York Application August 24,

12 Claims.

This invention relates to bottle capping machines and pertains more particularly to a portable device by which caps or closures may be manually applied to the mouth of containers such as milk bottles or the like.

The main objects of the invention are to produce a device by which caps may be manually applied in succession to the mouth of milk bottles; that is light, durable and economical in construction and which is positive, simple and easy in operation.

In carrying out the above-mentioned objects, we have provided a mechanism adapted to have secured thereto one end of a conventional cap shipping or retaining tube and which will receive one cap at a time from the tube and move the cap into position where it may be readily applied to the head of a bottle.

Other objects and advantages pertaining to the structure of the device and the form and the relation of the parts thereof, will more readily appear from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:--

Figure 1 is a top plan of a bottle capping ma chine embodying the various features of this imvention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the cap-applying mechanism illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged longitudinal central sectional view taken in the plane of the line 3-3, Figure l.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view illustrating the manner of operating the indexing mechanism for the cap carrier, taken in the plane of the line 4-4, Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a bottle cap for which my novel cap-applying mechanism is more particularly adapted.

Figure 6 is a detail vertical sectional view taken in plane of the line 6-6, Figure 3, with the lower end of a cap shipping tube illustrated in position in the magazine.

Figure '7 is a detail vertical sectional View taken substantially in the plane of the line 'I-'I, Figure 8.

Figure 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 8-8, Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 9-9, Figure 6.

Figure 10 is a detail sectional view taken substantially in the plane of the line Ill-I0, Figure 9.

Figure 11 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on line III I, Figure 10.

1933, Serial No. 686,584

The capping device, as illustrated in the drawings, consists of a spherical case or housing I which is split vertically to form two similar portions 2 and 3 which are clamped together by screws or bolts 4. The interior of the housing I 5 is provided with a substantially spherical chamber 5, while the upper portion of the housing has a laterally disposed flange 6 made integral therewith.

The lower portion of the housing I opposite 10 the flange 6 is extended downwardly and outwardly to form a tapered mouth I which is in communication with an outlet opening 1' adapted to receive therethrough the head of a bottle as B (see Figure 3). The upper end por- 15 tion of the case or housing I is provided with an annular opening 8 in axial alignment with the mouth 1 for the reception of a tubular maga- Zine 9 which has the lower end thereof removably secured in the opening 8 by a split retaining ring I0 mounted in an annular groove I I provided in the periphery of the magazine 9 adjacent the lower end thereof. This ring I9 is tensioned outwardly so that when the magazine is in operativeposition in the opening 8, said ring will be partially received in an annular groove I2 provided in the wall of the opening 8 in cooperative relation with the groove II in the magazine 9. The interior of the upper or outer end portion of the magazine 9 is slightly enlarged in diameter as at 9' for the reception of one end of a conventional bottle cap shipping tube I3, as illustrated more clearly in Figure 6.

The outer or upper end portion of the magazine 9 is also provided with an elongated slot I I in one side thereof which extends inwardly from the outer end to permit the entrance of the finger or a tool for guiding the caps during the insertion of the shipping tube I3 into the magazine 9.

Within the chamber 5 of the housing I is mounted a revolving cap carrier I6 adapted to successively move the caps from the magazine 9 into registration with the mouth I. The carrier IS, in this instance, consists of a substantially spherical rotor I'I rotatably mounted upon a stub shaft I8 which extends diametrically through the chamber 5, with one end screw threaded in one of the sections as 2 of the housing I and having the'other end thereof mounted in a suitable opening provided in the wall of the other housing section 3.

The rotor I! is flattened at diametrically opposite sides to form end surfaces I9 and 20, while the periphery of the rotor is provided with a 55 plurality of, in this instance four, annular recesses 2| of substantially the same diameter as the cap and arranged in uniform circumferential spaced relation for the reception of a corresponding number of cap applying disks 22. The depth of each of the recesses 2| is slightly greater than the thickness of the corresponding disk 22 so that said disks may be wholly contained within the respective recesses and thereby permit the ready rotation of the rotor and disks within the chamber 5.

These plates or disks 22 are yieldingly maintained in the respective recesses 2| by a headed stud 24 screw-threaded or otherwise secured to the rotor l1 and a shouldered screw 25 passing through an opening 26 provided at the center of each disk 22 and screw-threaded in the respective stud 24 (see Figure 6). In order that the disks may have a limited rocking movement in the respective recess 2|, the-heads of the studs 24 are spherical in formation and positioned in a similarly formed concave recess provided in the inner face of each of the disks and the openings 25 are made slightly larger in diameter than the corresponding portion of the screws 25.

Each disk is yieldingly maintained in the normal outermost position against the head of the respective screw 25 by a pair of diametrically disposed springs 28 mounted in corresponding recesses provided in the rotor H. The outer face of the cap-applying disks may be of any desired contour or configuration for receiving and supporting the cap therein, depending upon the formation of the cap so that a cap will be caused to move therewith during the rotation of the rotor I! from the magazine 9 about the periphery of the chamber 5 into alignment with the outlet 7' and mouth 1 of the case I.

It will be noted by referring to Figure 5, that the cap as 30, in this instance, comprises a cup-shaped body portion 3| provided with an annular flange 32 adapted to extend over the upper surface of the bead b of the bottle B.

The flange 32 terminates in a rim 33 which extends substantially parallel with the axis of the body portion 3| and is adapted to extend downwardly along the outer surface of the bead b when the cap is mounted on the bottle. Each disk 22 is, therefore, provided with an annular recess 35 in the outer surface thereof adapted to receive therein the flanged portion 32 of the cap, which are fed from the magazine 9 in an inverted position, as illustrated by broken lines in Figure 6. The recess 35 thus formed provides each disk 22 with a central raised portion 36 adapted to extend into the interior of the body portion of the cap so that as the disks are moved in a circular path within the chamber 5 by the rotation of the rotor, the caps engaging said disks will be moved about the chamber by the rotor.

Any suitable indexing means may be employed to intermittently rotate the rotor I1 and the disks carried thereby to bring the caps into successive registration with the outlet opening 7, and as shown, this mechanism consists of a gear 38 positioned adjacent one end face as 20 of the rotor I! and which is secured to or made integral with a tubular shaft as 39 which is rotatably mounted upon a supporting shaft l8. This tubular shaft 39 extends through the rotor IT and projects a short distance beyond the other end wall as |9 of the rotor and has secured to the outer end thereof, a flanged collar 40.

The rotor I! is rotatably mounted upon the tubular shaft 39 and in order that said rotor may be driven by the gear 38, the inner face of the collar 40 is provided with ratchet teeth 4| which are engaged by a pair of plungers 42 slidably mounted in respective holes 53 which extend inwardly from the end wall IS at diametrically opposite sides of the axis of said rotor. The outer ends of the plungers 42 are flattened at one side to form suitable contacting surfaces for engaging the ratchet teeth 45.

Each of the plungers 42 is yieldingly urged into engagement with the teeth of the collar 46 by means of springs 45 positioned in respective holes 43 at the inner end of the corresponding plunger 42, and in order that the outer end of the plungers may be maintained in proper relation with the ratchet teeth 4|, each plunger is provided with a guide pin 46 which extends laterally from the plunger into a corresponding slot 47 provided in the adjacent portion of the rotor IT, as shown more clearly in Figure 9. A rack bar 48 is mounted for longitudinal reciprocative movement in a groove 49 which extends longitudinally through one section as 3 of the case in a plane at one side of the shaft H3. The rack bar 48 is maintained in the groove 49 by means of a gib 59 secured to the adjacent portion of the case section 3 in any suitable manner as by screws 5|.

The teeth as 48 of the rack bar 43 are in meshing engagement with the gear 38, while the bar 48 extends upwardly through the upper end of the case and has the upper end portion thereof provided with an enlarged head member 52 which is adapted to engage the upper end of the case and limit the downward or inward movement of the bar.

The rack bar 48 may be manually moved upwardly for producing a corresponding rotary movement of the rotor I? by a trigger 53 which is secured to a vertically disposed trigger rod 54 near the upper end thereof. This trigger rod 54, in this instance, is a tubular member having the lower end thereof internally threaded and engaged with an externally threaded reduced portion 55 of the rack bar 48 which extends upwardly a short distance above the head portion 52. upper end of the trigger rod 54 is slidably mounted in a suitable recess 56 which extends inwardly from the lower face of the boss 5'! of a handle member 58.

The boss 51, in this instance, is a substantially hexagonal member in plan view and is secured to the case in spaced relation thereto by tie rods 59 which have the lower ends thereof screwthreaded in the flange 6. The upper ends of the rods are reduced in diameter as at 59 and extend upwardly through suitable apertures in the boss 51, while the handle member is removably secured to the tie rods by nuts 6|] screw-threaded on the outer ends of the tie rods.

The rack bar 48 is yieldingly urged towards its lower or innermost position by a spring 6| mounted in the upper end of the trigger rod 54 between the inner end of the recess 56 and a stop pin 62 secured to the rod 54 and which is also utilized for securing the trigger 53 to the rod 54.

The boss 51 is provided with a central opening 63 extending therethrough in alignment with the magazine 9 for the reception therethrough of the cap shipping tube l3. This boss is also provided With a pair of laterally disposed arms 64 which The:

extend outwardly from diametrically opposite sides of the boss to form respective handles by means of which the capping machine may be moved into and out of operative engagement with the bottles to be capped.

The trigger 53, in this instance, extends radially from the rod 54 in a plane a short distance below one of the handles 64 and has the outer end thereof as 53 bent at right angles to the main portion and extended upwardly into a recess 64 provided in the adjacent handle 64, said recess being formed in the lower portion of each handle to reduce the weight thereof.

It will now be observed that upon each upward movement of the trigger 53 and trigger bar 54 against the action of the spring Bl, a corresponding rotary movement will be given the rotor I"! through the medium of the rack bar 48, gear 38, tubular shaft 39, ratchet collar 40 and the plungers 42, and in order that the rotation of the rotor will be limited to a predetermined degree, depending upon the number of applying disks 22 provided on the rotor, we have provided the lower end of the rack bar 48 with an inwardly extending stop lug 66 which, when the rack bar 48 is in its uppermost position, is in the path of movement of a stop pin 61 secured to the rotor II. There are, in this instance, four of these stop pins 61 mounted in one end face as 20 of the rotor I? in uniform circumferential spaced relation and are so related with the corresponding disks 22 and the stop lug 66 on the rack bar 48 that when each applying disk is in the lowermost position in registration with the outlet opening I of the case I, said stop pin will engage the stop lug 65 and prevent further rotation of the rotor H and, therefore, further outward movement of the rack bar 48.

In order that the rotor I! will be maintained against rotary movement during the return or inward movement of the rack bar 48, we have provided a spring-actuated pawl 69 mounted in a recess it provided in the inner face of one of the case sections 3 and is pivotally secured near one end to the case by a screw H. One end of the pawl 69 is normally maintained in the path of movement of the stop pin 61 against the action of the spring as 72 by the engagement of the opposite end of said pawl with the peripheral surface of the recess Hi, as illustrated more clearly in Figure 7.

In order that the caps 30 will be removably maintained in operative relation with the respective disk 22 when said disk is in registration with the outlet opening 1' of the-case l, we have provided a pair of spring-retaining fingers 14 secured at their inner ends to a respective case section 2 and 3, as illustrated more clearly in Figures 3 and 7. These fingers are positioned at diametrically opposite sides of the outlet opening 1" and each is provided with a lateral extension M which projects outwardly from one side of the main portion of the guide member for engaging the peripheral edge of the cap as said edge passes beyond the adjacent portion of the peripheral wall of the chamber 5.

The lower ends as 14" of the finger members 14 are each bent outwardly and downwardly in the path of movement of the upper end of the bottle so that when the cap is being placed upon the bottle, said fingers will be engaged by the rim of the mouth of the bottle and moved outwardly so as to sufliciently release the edge of the cap that when the capping mechanism is removed from the bottle after having placed the cap on said bottle, these fingers will not sufliciently engage the side of the cap to effect the removal of the cap from the bottle.

It will now be apparent that with a shipping tube filled with bottle caps positioned in the 5 magazine 9, the lowermost cap will gravitate into the registering cap applying disk 22, and due to the particular relation of the rotor i1 and the disks 22 to the wall of the case chamber 5, the upper edge of the cap will be positioned within the bounds of the wall of the chamber, and at the same time, prevent the adjacent cap from moving into the chamber.

It will also be apparent that as the rotor I! is intermittently rotated one-quarter revolution at a time by actuating the trigger 53 against the action of the spring 6| in the manner hereinbefore described, each succeeding applying disk 22 Will be loaded with a respective cap from the magazine 9, while the disks which have previously received a cap from the magazine, will carry said cap about the Wall of the chamber 5 into registration with the outlet opening I of the case I in position to be placed upon the head of a bottle. 25

The placing of the caps upon the bottles is readily accomplished by the operator bringing the case i over the head of the bottle to be capped and then producing relative movement of the case I and bottle toward each other to cause the head of the bottle to enter the mouth I and inlet opening I.

As the capping device is removed from the bottle after having placed a cap thereon, another cap may be brought into registration with the outlet opening I by the operator manipulating the trigger 53 to effect one-quarter revolution of the rotor l1, whereupon the cycle of operation just described may be repeated for placing said cap upon another bottle.

Although we have shown and particularly described the preferred embodiment of our invention, we do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown, as various changes both in the form, size and relation of the parts thereof may readily be made without departing from the spirit of this invention as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a portable capping machine, a chambered case having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, a bottle cap magazinemounted on the case to directly supply caps to the inlet opening, a rotor mounted in said chamber, a cap applying means pivotally connected to the rotor adapted to receive caps from the magazine, and manually actuated operating means for intermittently rotating said rotor to successively move caps from the magazine into registration with the outlet opening.

2. In a portable capping machine, a chambered case having an inlet opening and an outlet open. ing, a bottle cap magazine mounted on the case to directly supply caps to the inlet opening, a cap carrier means mounted in the chamber including a rotor adapted to receive caps from the magazine, a hand actuated operating means for intermittently rotating said rotor to successively move caps from the magazine into registration with the outlet opening, and means secured to the case for releasably maintaining caps in operative relation with the rotor when said caps are in registration with the outlet opening.

3. In a portable capping machine, a chambered 1 case having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, a bottle cap magazine mounted on the case to directly supply caps to the inlet opening, a rotor mounted in said chamber, a cap applying means pivotally connected to the rotor adapted to receive caps from the magazine, hand actuated operating means for intermittently rotating said rotor to successively move caps from the magazine into registration with the outlet opening, and yielding means secured to the case adjacent the outlet opening for releasably maintaining caps in the applying means when said caps are in registration with said outlet opening.

4. In a portable capping machine, a chambered case having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, handles associated with the case whereby the case may be moved into and out of capping relation with a bottle, a cap carrier mounted in the case adapted to move caps from the inlet opening into registration with the outlet opening, and operating means for the carrier including a trigger member adjacent one of said handles whereby the operator may efiect intermittent movement of the cap carrier.

5. In a portable capping machine, a case having a mouth portion adapted to receive the head of a bottle therein, means for yieldingly supporting a bottle cap in operative relation with said mouth portion, comprising a pivotally mounted disc arranged in registration with the mouth and spring fingers secured to the case adjacent said mouth and handles associated with the case whereby the case may be manually moved into and out of capping relation with a bottle.

6. In a bottle capping device, a case adapted to be manually moved into and out of operative engagement with a bottle, a rotor associated with the case and having means for releasably supporting a bottle cap and manually operated means mounted on the case and operatively connected with the rotor for actuating the rotor whereby caps may be moved from a loading station to a discharge station in position for engaging a bottle.

'7. In a portable capping device, a chambered case adapted to be manually moved into and out of operative engagement with a bottle, and having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, means for successively supplying bottle caps to said inlet opening, cap feeding means mounted in the chamber and coacting with the wall of said chamber for moving caps from the inlet open ing to the outlet opening, manually operated means for actuating said cap feeding means, and yielding means connected with the case for releasably maintaining caps in said chamber when said caps are in registration with the outlet opening.

8. A bottle capping device comprising in combination a chambered case having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, handle means associated with the case whereby said case may be manually moved into and out of capping relation with a bottle, a cap carrier mounted in the case having means for releasably supporting a bottle cap, and manually operated means for the carrier including a trigger mounted adjacent said handle means whereby the operator may effect intermittent movement of the cap carrier.

9. A bottle capping device comprising in combination a chambered case having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, handle means associated with the case whereby said case may be manually moved into and out of capping relation with a bottle, a cap carrier mounted in the case having means pivotally connected. thereto for releasably supporting a bottle cap, and hand operated means mounted on the case and operatively connected with the carrier for actuating the latter whereby caps may be moved from the inlet opening to the outlet opening in position for engaging a bottle.

10. A bottle capping device comprising in combination a chambered case, handle means associated with the case whereby said case may be manually moved into and out of capping relation with a bottle, a rotor mounted in the case, a plurality of spaced cap supporting members pivotally connected with the rotor, and manually operated means mounted on the case and operatively connected with the rotor whereby the operator may effect intermittent movement of the rotor to successively move caps from the supporting means through the case into position for engaging a bottle.

11. A bottle capping device comprising in combination a chambered case having diametrically opposed openings, handle means connected with the case whereby said case may be manually moved into and out of capping relation with the bottle, a rotor mounted in the chamber, a plurality of cap retaining members pivotally connected with the rotor in circumferential spaced relation, fixed bottle cap supporting means adjacent one of said openings for supplying caps directly to the retaining members, and manually operated means mounted on the case including a trigger member adjacent the handle means whereby the operator may effect intermittent movement of the rotor to successively move caps from the cap supporting means to the other opening in position to engage a bottle.

12. A device as in claim 11 having resilient means secured to the case adjacent the second mentioned opening adapted to releasably maintain the caps in the cap supporting means in registration therewith.

JOHN G. KEMPE. EINO E. LAKSO. 

